26.5.09

game on! As part of the truck driving historians recent birthday haul, The Intern introduced us to the super cool Finnish stylings of Klop! Simple really - 12 pegs, chuck a klop at them - score what you hit, first to 50 wins but if you go over 50 you go back to 25.

We aren't the most athletic family as you can see. There was much discussion as to technique and strategy. Let me tell you peeps it is much harder than it looks. We very quickly scrapped the rule that if you miss the pegs three times then you're out.

The Intern played a hard and fast game, taking risks and ending up back at 25 to claw her way back for victory. A super fun hour in the park. Highly recommended. And hey they are made here in Melbourne so when you order it comes in a nice box in a day or so! Thom was an excellent referee - declaring we were all winners simply because we could walk and talk - humans are so impressive.

25.5.09

Hey all you hep cats out there, this ones for you. Artist, bossa nova chick and jazz crooner Stacey Broughton's new exhibition of mosaic seed art hits all the right retro notes, not only utilising 1950's beat inspired graphics but constructing them out of a medium we haven't seen used since, like the 50's. In a special 'one night only' performance you can catch up with Stacey and her seed stuff at the fabulous Tiki Robot residence. After that viewings will be by appointment only. Just remember to wear your turtleneck.

22.5.09

birthday scarf I got it made just in time. Just as well the truck driving historian had a night shift! It's not so easy sewing in ends at midnight but with my glamorous assistant at hand I completed this variegated stripe scarf in Jo Sharp Silk Road Ultra (the most delicious 12 ply - natural fibres people!) and still had time to ice the chocolate cake. Bill Granger called it the no fail birthday cake - how wrong he was.

20.5.09

Max turns 9 months today, which of course means he's been as long on the outside as he was on the inside... quite an achievement. Now if only we love you sohad posted this DIY cardboard version before we made our own real live boy i'm sure we all would have got soooo much more sleep. Only joking peeps, we wouldn't have him any other way... happy birthday little man.

that's all folk... Many of you will be familiar with the inspired faux food of Melbourne jeweller Lucy Folk. Some of you might have even attended her last solo show at Pieces of Eight Gallery Nibbles, in which she transformed diet killers from hot-dogs to burger rings into guilt-free edible mementos for those wanting the ultimate in lean cuisine. More recently she has turned her attention to a meal time favourite and subject of Ramona's favourite New York Times cartoon)...Pasta! Following in the footsteps of her father Folk has usied traditional shaping techniques in wax rather than dough to fashion the pasta, then cast them in silver and 18ct gold, the results... delicious. We think the Fafalle rings are tops, but given his heritage, it's impossible to go past the rigatoni cufflinks as the ultimate accessory for the in-house architect. Pasta is on show at Pieces of Eight until the 23rd of May. Get it while it's hot.

19.5.09

come in spinnerFeel like kickin' it old school this weekend? Then head on out to the handspinners and weavers guild Textile Bazaar this Saturday. The bazaar is being held at the Guild rooms, which is at 12-20 Shakespeare Street North Carlton for those who've never been there before. The sale runs from 10am to 3pm and will include loads of Guild Members handwork, as well as pre-loved books & equipment, yarns, and more. The Gallery & Craft Outlet will also open for business on the day and they've assured us that "plenty of bargains and gift ideas" will be on sale. Entry is free.

18.5.09

burning upThe ladies of hml are always telling you to get out there amongst the objects. 9 times out of 10 we don't get our act together to see the shows we tell you about! But yesterday The Worlds Smallest Philosopher, The Historian and I (Ramona) thought we'd meet pals in St Kilda for coffee via Moonee Ponds incinerator arts complex...We'd never heard of it but picked up an intriguing flyer at the market the day before. The incinerator itself was designed by Walter and Marion Burley Griffin. Now I'm a big fan of Marion and consider her an unsung architecture heroine - anyone who has seen the amazing roof at the Capitol Theatre here in Melbourne can attest to that. They were having a sculpture show there and you know how when you trot off to these places the work can often be a bit, well you know, mediocre? Well we were really impressed with some of the stuff. This drawing machine by Nick Ilton had Thom captivated

The highlight for me was this curved monumental structure by Annamaria Plescia made of thousands of egg cartons. It was architectural and organic at the same time. The show runs til this Sunday. It's an interesting space. It doesn't have the glamour of Linden or the cool factor of Abbotsford Convent but it has good bones and I'm glad it's there. Oh, and it nowhere near St Kilda...

15.5.09

There's a new Marian Hosking show in town at Gallery Funaki. Those familiar with Marian's work will need no further information than that to see them hot footing it to Crossley Street toot sweet. Those unfamiliar should do themselves a favour and meet up with those in the know for a lesson in why Marian is considered both a living treasure and a maker of some of the finest contemporary jewellery in Australia. These most recent works, see found souvenirs, toys and jewellery appropriated, reiterated and remade via a casting method that sees them transformed into something more slippery in definition and altogether more beautiful.

13.5.09

We've been talking alot about collaboration in the office of HML this week. We are working on an exciting new project and it has us all fired up. Two of our favorite collaborators are the lovely Camilla Engman and Elisabeth Dunker who together create beautiful ceramics in the faraway land of Sweden. Here's a lovely little film of them getting ready for an exhibition. The sound is great but if you dont have a speaker or you are at work it's just as soothing in silence.

10.5.09

Max clearly had a secret project going this week (with a little help from Dad and Muji) and suprised me this morning with this excellent hand made Mother's Day card. I especially enjoyed the bird and ball throwing details and the fact that he managed to get all my colour coded texta's back in the right order while completing this masterpiece. He even remembered to include a gift voucher for a two hour massage here in the card. Top job Maxwell, you have set the bar high!

Things got a little fruitier here after that (as they often do), with Uncle Matt chipping in with his own present for my very first Mothers Day... a very special piece of vinyl from one of our family favourites, the fabulously coiffured, canine loving schlager poster boy 'Heino' . Heino is still providing a soundtrack for the motherland and has surprisingly maintained both his poodle-iciousness and andy warhol look alike charms... and all of his records are brilliantly bizarre so if you see one in your local oppy or trash and treasure do yourself the proverbial molly and pick it up. Trust me, you won't be dissapointed. All in all a brilliant day, I hope all you other Mums out there fared as well.

Happy Mothers Day Mothers Day is a big deal in our house. My mum lives with us and with two kids 15 years apart I am spreading out this mother thing for as long as I can! We are very project oriented around here as regular readers will know...

So my mum got two handmade gifts this year. A simple lace cotton knit scarf to go with all her lovely cardigans. Maggie B is a big walker so it's a good idea to have something to ward off the autumn chill...

I also turned my hand to a bit of embroidery. I stretched the reverse side of a floral fabric, added some stitching and painted a little yellow warbler in the corner...

It turned out ok. I had trouble picking appropriate stitches in parts and there was alot of undoing and tut tutting in the wee hours of the morning...

The intern is encouraging me to enter Masterchef next year and we have a theory that without beautiful handmade pasta I won't have a hope in hell. So to inspire me I got quite the cooks treat...

Results of my first attempt at crab ravioli, squid ink spagettini, and pumpkin tagliatelle next week...

9.5.09

Fellow readers who also love the sartorialist'sbeautifully chic street shots of the world's most fashionable will already know that he's currently 'down-under' working the streets of Sydney and Melbourne, and will have adjusted their wardrobes accordingly. We've just chosen not to go outside during his stay lest we embarrass ourselves further with our poorly put together post baby ensembles. It's been brilliant seeing our street scene through the fresh eyes of a New York mega maven, and apparently he'll be back to partay in both Melbourne and Sydney later this year to promote his new book. Hopefully that will give us enough time to plan an outfit.

6.5.09

Because I had to go into town yesterday to drop off a card order, I decided to make the most of the half hour of time afforded between Max-naps to catch up with Sophie Milne's show Street Side at enCOUNTER. Sophie has said that the works reference both her familiar urban environment, and the beauty often found in industrially designed objects, and in this sense Street Side is a handmade salute to industry. What a lovely sentiment. For me the pieces were as dreamily evocative of long empty roads as they are pertinent to the busy road-side exhibition space they inhabit. Either way her work, as usual, is the epitome of chic understatement. All power to you Sophie.

And of course because we were in town we had to stop off at our favourite little 'cupcakeria'... for a goodie box. Blueberry, mocha, cookies & cream, vanilla coconut, carrot and the much mythologised red velvet. And yes, even though I'd intended to share them with the architect upon my return I managed to eat two on the train on the way home all by myself, and no I didn't feel in the least bit guilty.

4.5.09

According to Gallery 19 Karenthe exhibition Hungry Like the Wolf borrows it's title from a Duran Duran song and evokes notions of contemporary and ancient folklore and magic realism, unlike Duran Duran, who evoke notions of pastel leather scrunched up sleeves, nose candy and apricot hair.

Jae Copp above, Emily Valentine below

HLTW also stars a bevvy of local talent including: NIC PLOWMAN, ALICE LANG, EMILY VALENTINE, JAE COPP, VITOR DOS SANTOS, BEN CONSTANTINE, GREEDY HEN, BEASTMAN, REBECCA MURPHY, ZOE PORTER, RANDAL BREEN LUCINDA WOLBER, phew that's quite a list. Apparently 19 Karen staged an opening night that came with a specific outfitting theme : 'grandiose, hybrid, folklore, superstition and mystic'. How excellent, gallery goers co-ordinate outfits to match the artworks! This sounds like a brilliant idea to us, and imagine how good the opening night people pics will look. We wish we had been there, you know how much we like to dress up... and we'll use any excuse to get out the Stevie Nicks 'Rhiannon' outfit.

Hungry Like the Wolf02 - 30 May @ 19 Karen19 Karen AvenueMermaid BeachGOLD COAST QLD 4218.yup that's right people this one is for Queenslanders and northbound travellers only:)